Doctorate of Musical Arts
Bassoon performance and music literature with a minor in theory
University of Illinois
Master of Music
Bassoon performance
State University of New York at Stony Brook
Bachelor of Music Education
University of Southern Mississippi
If you frequent orchestra concerts in the area, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Kari Shea perform. She plays bassoon and contra bassoon for the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Concert Artists of Baltimore, Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra and the Amadeus Orchestra. She’s also the music director at St. Anne’s Parish in Annapolis and a guest artist for Anne Arundel County Public Schools APEX+ Arts program. If you ever attended Gallery Winds Chamber Music Summer Camp, she might have been your teacher. The camp is run by the Gallery Winds Woodwind Quintet, of which she is a member.
Shea’s professional career extends beyond the local area. She has performed with ensembles such as the Forest Philharmonic in London, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Opera, the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Mississippi Symphony and the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed in France, Sweden and Nova Scotia. In 2006, she received the Individual Artist Award for Solo Performance from the Maryland State Arts Council, and she has been a featured performer at the Clarinet Association ClarinetFest and the International Double Reed Society Conference.
At AACC, she teaches applied bassoon and performs with the AACC Symphony Orchestra and Concert Band.
“AACC students come to you with a variety of experiences and education,” she said. “Many are self-taught musicians, and they are passionate about their instruments and learning.”
When she's not performing or teaching, she enjoys exploring historical musical instruments, “as this gives you perspective into the music that was written for these instruments and ways to approach the performance with modern instruments.”
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